A New Start
by lxwkl31
Summary: AU where Scott and Melissa act as a foster family to a troubled Isaac. Possible Scisaac so if you're not into that stop/ don't start reading.
1. Chapter 1

It was seven in the afternoon and Scott was waiting on the porch waiting for his mom to return from the Child Protective Services.

About a week ago his mom sat him down at the kitchen table to explain that they would be a temporary foster home to a troubled kid who needed a place to stay. Some people from CPS had brought him to the hospital to get him checked out. His mom treated him for several injuries he had sustained. When they mentioned to her that he would have to stay at a local shelter while they figure out where to send him, she spoke up and offered up their home.

Scott admired his mom for that. She has always been a loving and empathetic person. But this is a little crazy.

"'Troubled'," Scott said. "Troubled how? Is he, like, dangerous?"

"No," his mom said quickly. "No, of course not. He's just had a rough life."

Scott nodded in understanding. After a few moments he asked, "What's his name?"

"Isaac," she said.

_Isaac, _Scott thought._ How can a kid named 'Isaac' be troubled? _

"When will he be coming?" Scott asked.

"I'll be picking him up from Child Protective Services next week."

So here Scott was. Waiting for this 'troubled' kid who was going to be living with him for what could be forever. He knew next to nothing about him. Whatever information he could get from his mother was minimal. He was just six when his mother died and his father became consumed with grief. Just when things started to turn around for the family, Isaac's brother had died in combat. That seemed to be the final blow. His father lost it and began abusing Isaac, physically and mentally. She wouldn't go into to detail. She said that it was Isaac's business and Scott agreed, although he was curious.

There was a chill in the air so Scott hurried back inside and grabbed a jacket off the coat rack by the door. When he returned outside he spotted his mom's car coming down the road. It wasn't the greatest car but she wasn't bothered by it. It got her from point A to point B, she liked to say. It was all she could afford as a single mom with a demanding job.

When she pulled in Scott couldn't see into the car. There was a wide glare on the windshield that blocked his view. Melissa opened her door and looked at her son, "Hey, honey." She said with a wave.

A few seconds later the passenger side door opened.

_Here we go,_ Scott thought, taking a deep breath.

Next to the car stood a relatively pale, tall, boy with golden brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a dark blue zip-up hoodie over a white shirt and dark jeans. Scott's mom worked her way around to him. He looked at Scott but only briefly before he looked at the ground. Melissa took his arm and walked him over to the steps leading up to the house.

"Scott, this is Isaac." She said with a smile. "Isaac, this is my son, Scott."

Scott smiled down at Isaac. "Nice to meet you," he said holding out a hand.

Isaac looked up and took his hand and shook it. "You too," he said, returning the smile before quickly turning his gaze back to the ground.

"Well," Melissa said. "I'll go get your stuff and Scott here will show you to your room." She smiled at them both and turned back to the car.

Isaac slid his hands in his pockets. "Thank you," he said quickly to Melissa.

_He's so nervous,_ Scott thought.

"Come on," he said. "This way." Scott turned and walked inside, Isaac following silently. They climbed the stairs and walked down the short hallway to the guest room. Scott opened the door and walked through to reveal a good sized room with a bed in the far corner all made up with pillows and blankets. There was a nightstand next to the bed and on it stood a lamp that he assumed was new. There was a dresser on the other side where Isaac could keep his clothes. What little he _did_ have probably wouldn't take up the first two drawers. There were two windows letting in the late afternoon light and a door leading to a small bathroom that included a toilet and sink.

"Well," Scott said throwing his arms up. "This is it! Hope you like it."

Isaac still looked very uncomfortable. He was standing inside the doorway looking around the room, his hands still in his pockets. He at Scott and smiled a nervous smile. "Thanks," he said. "It's great." and went back to surveying the room.

Scott didn't know what else to say and the situation was becoming more and more awkward as time went by. Luckily, he heard his mom working her way up the stairs. Isaac quickly moved into the room as she rounded the corner and came in behind him. She only had one small suitcase in her hand.

_That's it? _Scott thought_. That's all he has?_

"So here's your bag," Melissa said. "Feel free to unpack, there's space all over." She smiled at Isaac.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

Melissa looked at Scott. "Honey, why don't we give Isaac some time to relax and get situated?"

Scott nodded at Isaac as he walked to the door.

"We'll be downstairs if you need us." Melissa said as she closed the door behind them.

They walked downstairs and sat on the couch in the living room. "So what do you think?" his mom asked.

"He seems nice," Scott said. "I think he'll need some time to get used to living with us. He looks really uncomfortable and nervous."

"Well wouldn't you if you had to go live with people you've never met before?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I guess." Scott said looking at the stairs. "I better not wake up to him standing over my bed with a knife."

Melissa hit Scott on the arm with a gasp. "Don't be ridiculous." She matched his gaze, looking at the stairs, and smiled. "I think he'll do great here."


	2. Chapter 2

A couple minutes went by and Isaac came walking down the stairs.

_That was quick,_ Scott thought.

"Hey," Melissa said sweetly. "Do you need something, honey?"

Isaac fumbled with his hands. "I was wondering if you had anything I could eat?"

"Who doesn't have something to eat in their house?" Scott said with an edge.

Melissa hit him again and looked at Isaac. "Of course we do," she said with a smile. "Come on, what are ya hungry for?" She got up and led him to the kitchen.

Scott stayed seated on the couch. The sun was almost down now and he was starting to feel tired. He got up and headed upstairs to his room. He got undressed down to his boxers and went into his bathroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, all the nightly routines his mom made a habit of while he was growing up.

Once finished he returned to his room and collapsed on the bed. He could hear mumbled voices coming from the kitchen and a little bit of laughter too.

_Glad they're already best friends, _Scott thought. He didn't know why he had so much animosity toward Isaac. He'd only just met him! But he couldn't shake a feeling inside of him that suggested something was off about the kid.

He had to know more if he was going to live under the same roof as this stranger.

So Scott waited until he heard Isaac's footsteps in the hallway and his door closing. He got out of his bed slid on some sweat pants and a shirt and made his way into the hallway. He looked toward his mom's door, it was closed.

_Night mom, _Scott thought.

He turned his head toward Isaac's door and continued forward. Once in front of the door he stopped to listen. There was quiet movement coming from inside and Scott closed his hand around the door knob and twisted.

He walked in to find Isaac sitting up in his bed and the lamp beside him was on. He was reading a book, what it was Scott couldn't tell.

Isaac looked up and when he saw Scott he visibly became tense.

Scott walked over and stood over his bed and Isaac didn't say a word. "I was wondering if I could talk to you," he said.

"S-sure," Isaac said nervously.

Scott didn't know what he expected when Isaac arrived, but this wasn't it. He pictured a hard-ass kid who's been sent to juvie so many times he had his own room in back. He pictured leather jackets, cigarette on the ear, tattoos and an asshole attitude.

The boy in front of him was none of those things. Instead, here was a kid frightened of his own shadow. Even now he had a hard time looking at Scott. When Scott looked at him, all that animosity he felt seemed to disappear. Now that he was closer to Isaac he could see that he truly was, well, troubled.

Scott sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Isaac.

"I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier," he told him. "I was being an insensitive dick and it was a horrible first impression."

"Don't worry about it," Isaac said with a brief smile that seemed to Scott was forced. Isaac's voice started to trail away as he finished. "I'm used to that sort of thing," and he looked down at his book.

He was reading _Journey to the Center of the Earth _by Jules Verne.

"Is that good?" Scott asked pointing at the novel.

Isaac looked at it. "Yeah, it's one of my favorites."

"I think I saw that movie," Scott said with a grin, trying to add a little levity to the conversation.

Isaac smiled a little. "Yeah," he said with small laugh. He held up the book briefly and said, "Books better." Scott could see Isaac was becoming more relaxed.

"Do you like to read?" Scott asked him.

"Sometimes," he said. "It's good to get away for a while."

"From your dad?" Scott immediately regretted what he just said. Isaac's demeanor seemed to change in an instant. He wasn't the smiling boy he was a second ago, he was once again tense. "I- I'm sorry," Scott started to say.

"No," Isaac said waving a dismissive hand. "No, it's ok. You didn't do anything wrong."

Scott was afraid to say anything. "I didn't mean to bring back any bad memories or something."

Isaac forced a smile, "It's fine."

They sat in silence for a bit before Scott got up from the bed. "Well," he said. "I'll let you get back to your reading."

Isaac nodded. "Thanks," and Scott turned and headed toward the door.

He opened the door and stopped and turned back toward the boy on the bed. "Isaac," he said.

Isaac looked up at Scott. "Yeah?"

"You're safe here. You don't have to be afraid anymore." Isaac's face didn't change, he just looked at Scott.

Scott left the room and closed the door. He returned to his room and got into bed and stared at the ceiling.

_This is going to be one hell of a ride_, Scott thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Scott woke up early the next morning for a run. He'd done this every Sunday since he began lacrosse and found it to be surprisingly cathartic. He liked the early morning air, the emptiness of the streets, the small amount of mist that still hung in the air, the sun just creeping over the horizon.

He crawled out of bed, exchanged his sweatpants for some shorts, pulled on socks, and left his room. He glanced down the hallway at Isaac's door, saw it was still closed, and continued down the hallway to the stairs, descended and went out the door.

It was quiet, as it was every morning, and Scott began his run down the road.

When he returned, the sun was higher up in the sky and he could see neighborhood waking up. Dogs were being let out, people leaving for their various jobs or starting daily errands.

Scott climbed his stairs and went inside. In the kitchen, his mother was preparing her morning coffee at the counter.

"Morning, honey." She said when she heard Scott approach.

"Morning," he said. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottled water.

"How'd your run go?" she asked.

Scott took a few gulps of water and capped the bottle. "Good," he said.

Melissa stopped what she was doing and looked up with a contemplative look. "Maybe I should get in shape."

Scott let out accidental laugh and threw his hand up over his mouth. His mom turned and gave him a long glare and Scott slowly inched his way back out the kitchen.

Having escaped what could only be certain death, Scott laid down on the couch with his water. He heard the creak of a door opening upstairs. _Isaac's up,_ he thought.

Isaac came down the stairs and glanced at Scott, gave him a small smile of greeting, and made his way into the kitchen. Scott heard his mother's voice talking to Isaac.

Curious, he got up and walked into the kitchen.

"-would you be interested in that?" he heard his mom say.

"Interested in what?" Scott asked.

They both looked at Scott. "I was just asking Isaac if he'd like to go to Beacon Hills High. The social worker said he was homeschooled so I thought it would be a good experience for him."

Scott raised his eyebrows and looked at Isaac. "Oh! What do you think?" he asked him.

Isaac looked down and smiled a little. He looked like a shy little kid who was finally getting attention. "I'm not sure. I don't really know what's expected."

Melissa put a hand on Isaac's shoulder. "Well that's ok! Scott will be able to show you around, get comfortable," she looked at her son. "Right, Scott?"

"Y-yeah," he said. "Sure, of course."

Scott could see Isaac's smile grow larger.

"Great," his mom said. "I'll call the school tomorrow and set up a meeting with the principal and hopefully we can get you in by next week!"

Isaac looked at Melissa and then at Scott. "Great," he said, the smile still plastered on his face.

Scott thought Isaac looked a little too excited about going to school. Maybe that was because he'd never experienced it before.

Scott found himself wondering if he even had any friends. _Oh my God, _he thought_._ He never thought to ask. But what if he didn't? Wouldn't that make things even more awkward between them? Maybe he could introduce him to Stiles? Or Allison and Lydia? _God help him,_ Scott thought.

Melissa patted Isaac on the back and left the kitchen, leaving him and Isaac alone.

"Got any plans today?" Scott asked. Stupid question but Scott wanted to be nice and he had an idea that would hopefully get Isaac to forget about last night.

Isaac shook his head. "Not that I know of."

Scott smiled a little. "Good," he said. "How about a trip to the library?"

Isaac looked incredulous. "The library?"

"Yeah," Scott said with a friendly tone. "I thought since you like books we could get some!" A moment passed and Scott added with a smile, "And maybe you could rub off on me and I can finally become an intellectual."

Isaac laughed. "You think reading books makes someone an intellectual?"

"Well, no." he replied. "But it's a start!"

Isaac stood there looking at Scott. "Ok," he said finally.

"Ok," Scott said. "Well I'm going to go get a shower and you can too."

Isaac made an amused face.

"-when I'm done!" Scott added quickly and left the room. _What the hell, Scott._

He went upstairs and got his shower, brushed his teeth, styled his hair as best he could, pulled on some clothes, and went back downstairs. Isaac was sitting on the chair next to the couch watching tv with his mom.

"Ok, it's yours." He said to Isaac. He got up and went upstairs. Scott took a seat next to his mom on the couch.

"Isaac said you're going to the library?" His mom asked. "I thought it was a joke but he wasn't laughing."

Scott made a sarcastic laugh and looked at his mom. "You're hilarious mom. No, really. You should quit your job. Go on the road."

She nudged him with her elbow. "No, I think it's great. I think it'll be good for him. What made you think of the library?"

"I saw him reading last night. It was a torn up book that looked like he'd had it forever. I thought we'd get him a new one and whatever else he wanted. He really likes books."

"That must be completely foreign to you," his mom said in a dry tone.

Scott looked at his mother with a blank stare. "I'm getting sick of your crap, mom."

Melissa laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm done. Promise."

Scott heard Isaac on the stairs and got up from the couch. He looked at his mother, "I'll deal with you later."

Melissa threw her hands in the air and pretended to quiver. "I'm scared!"

Isaac was at the foot of the stairs now.

"Oh," His mom said looking at Isaac. "When you get back we'll go shopping and get you some new clothes, ok hun?"

"Oh, you don't have to do that-" Isaac started to say before Melissa waved her hand in the air cutting him off.

"It's my pleasure. Besides, if you're going to start school you'll need something to make the kids swoon at'cha." She said smiling.

Isaac's face started to turn red. Scott walked over to him and took his arm and led him to the door. "Come on. There's something wrong with her today."

"Hey!" Melissa said. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you!"

"You're welcome!" Scott said.

They rushed through the door as his mom yelled, "Be careful!"

They climbed down the steps and headed back to the garage.

"Sorry about that. Sometimes she starts drinking really early."

Isaac stopped short. "Really?" he asked with surprise.

"No," Scott replied with a small laugh. "She doesn't drink."

They continued down the driveway until they came to the garage door and opened it. Scott went inside and rolled out his motorbike and grabbed two helmets from the table by the door. Scott handed Isaac one and pulled the other over his head and hopped onto the bike. Isaac didn't move.

Scott looked at Isaac. "Something wrong?" Scott asked.

"No, nothing, it's just-" Isaac looked at the bike. "Is that safe?"

"Totally," Scott said. "Hold on tight and you'll be fine." Scott smiled and then realized he was wearing a helmet.

Isaac looked nervous but he pulled on the helmet. He got on close behind Scott and grabbed a hold of him tight.

"You good?" Scott asked.

"So far," Isaac replied.

Scott let out a small giggle and started the bike. It was loud and noisy, Scott loved it. His mom hated it but she trusted Scott not to be stupid. He revved the engine a few times and sped off down the street, Isaac hanging on for dear life.


	4. Chapter 4

They arrived at the library and Isaac quickly jumped off the bike. Scott turned on the seat and looked at Isaac. He took off his helmet and said, "Aw, come on. It wasn't that bad."

"Tell that to those kids on the bikes!" Isaac said, pointing the direction they just came.

"They saw me!" Scott said, defending himself.

"Barely," Isaac said with a smile.

Scott hopped off the bike and they walked inside. They walked over to one of the librarians and asked if they could set their helmets on one of the tables. She nodded and they and they turned toward the rows and rows of books.

"Well, let's begin." Scott said, rubbing his hands together and they went separate ways. Scott saw Isaac going toward the _Adventure_ section so he decided to check out the sci-fi.

There was a wide range of tastes represented, that Scott was absolutely sure of. One book had three green girls and what looked like a space cowboy on the cover called, oddly enough, _Space Cowboy._

_Well that seems lazy, _Scott thought.

He continued down the row looking over all the books but nothing interested him so he moved on to the _Paranormal _section. He was halfway through the aisle when he felt his breath shorten and his chest tighten.

_Oh, come on. I used my inhaler this morning. _He thought and plunged into his pocket to retrieve it when Isaac came up behind him.

"Find anything?" he asked and Scott turned around and used his inhaler. "You have an inhaler?" He asked. He had three books in his hands.

"Yeah, I have a mild case of asthma. It hits me at weird times. It's gotten better recently; I barely have to use my inhaler anymore except for when I run or exercise." Scott looked in front of him and picked up a book and held it up to Isaac. "And I did find a book! I'm _super_ excited to read it." It was _Twilight _by Stephanie Meyer.

Isaac let out a laugh. "An excellent choice. Well, if that's not your taste, here." He held out a book.

"_1984 _by George Orwell. I think I've heard of this one before." Scott said and looked up at Isaac.

"'Big Brother'," Isaac said. "It's kinda depressing but it's really good. One of my favorites."

"Alright," Scott smiled and put _Twilight _back on the shelf_._ "I'll give it a shot."Helooked at the books in Isaac's hand. "You found those pretty quick."

Isaac looked at them and said with a smile, "Yeah, I knew what I wanted." His expression seemed to change instantly. He suddenly seemed conflicted. "Can I ask you something?" Isaac asked.

Scott looked up from his book. "Sure, what is it?"

Isaac looked like he regretted asking. "Why-" the words seemed to catch and he cleared his throat. "Why are you being so nice? I mean, you just met me yesterday, you barely know me, and yet you're acting like my best friend."

Scott was surprised_._ "Well, I don't know. I guess this is me trying to get to know you."

Isaac didn't seem to know what to say. _Has he never had a friend,_ Scott thought to himself.

"Come on." He said to Isaac. "Let's check out and get back. You have a date with my mom to get to." He said and Isaac let out a small laugh.

When they returned home Melissa was where they left her on the couch but now she was all made up to go out.

"How was the library?" she asked as the came through the door.

"Fine," Scott said. "Isaac found me a book!"

"Wow," Melissa said with what seemed to Scott as complete and total false enthusiasm. "My boy's growing up! What's it called?"

"_1984_," he told her_._

Melissa gasped. "I loved that book! We read it when I was in school!"

_Oh, God, _Scott thought. "They had books when you were in school?" he asked.

Melissa gave Scott another glare and held up her hands. She made a "small" gesture with her thumb and index finger. "This close, son. You're this close before everyone's gonna start looking for a body." Scott laughed and she looked at Isaac, her face suddenly friendlier like a flipped switch. "Are you ready go shopping?" she asked.

"Um, sure." He said timidly.

"Great," Melissa said, getting up from the couch. "Let me go get my purse and we'll go," and she walked into the kitchen.

Isaac looked at Scott. "Thanks for taking me, today," he said.

"No problem." Scott replied with a smile.

A moment later Melissa returned. "Ok," she said with a sigh. "Let's get to it. You excited?" she asked Isaac. He nodded. "Me too," she said excitedly. "I love shopping." She looked at her son. "Who knows? I might find something for me."

"You're going for him." Scott said gesturing at Isaac.

"Well now _you_ don't get _anything_." She said with a look. Scott shook his head laughing and they were out the door.

Now Scott was alone in the house. He walked over to the couch with his book and lay down.

Scott opened to the first page and started reading. _"It was a bright cold day in April…."_

Before he knew it his mom and Isaac were pulling up in the driveway and Scott looked at the clock. Three hours had gone by. Scott had gotten sucked in by the story of Winston Smith and Big Brother. Isaac was right. This _is _good.

They walked through door carrying multiple bags. "Did you leave anything at the store?" Scott asked.

"The mannequins," Melissa said setting the bags down and smiling. "We got all kinds of clothes, didn't we Isaac?"

Isaac held up the bags in his hands. "Tons."

"Go on, run up stairs and try them on. Put whatever doesn't fit back in the bag and I'll take them back later." Isaac took up the rest of his bags and went upstairs. Melissa walked around the couch and sat down next to Scott, letting out a deep sigh.

"So how was it?" Scott asked.

"It was like pulling teeth." She said. "He wouldn't pick anything out."

"Maybe he didn't want to be fussed over." Scott suggested.

"Maybe," she said and looked at the stairs. "I just want him to feel welcome. I want him to feel at home here."

"He will," Scott said. "Like you said, he had a rough life before us. He just needs time to adjust."

Melissa grabbed Scott's hand. "When did you grow up so fast?" she asked.

"Grow up?" Scott said, feigning being insulted. "How dare you? I am a child!"

Melissa laughed, "Couldn't let me have my 'mom' moment, could you?"

Scott smiled. "Nope."

They sat there a few moments until Melissa got up from the couch. "Well, I guess I'll start dinner. Spaghetti alright with you?"

"Sure," Scott replied and she walked to the kitchen.

He looked down at the book in his hands and then to the stairs. _I wonder if he even knows what a 'home' feels like._


	5. Chapter 5

It was Monday morning and time for school again. Scott was getting ready as he always did: shower, teeth, shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and out the door to meet his mom before she went to work by her car. Today, Isaac was with her in his brand new clothes- a thin, grey V-neck sweater with the sleeves pulled up over a white shirt and jeans. It fit him pretty well considering how tall he is. They were meeting with the principal at Beacon Hills High to get into the curriculum. It was still pretty early in the year so he wasn't missing much and he's sixteen so he would be a junior with Scott.

He walked down the steps to where his mom and Isaac were standing by the car. Isaac looked a bit nervous, but who wouldn't be? Starting public schools for the first time? _It must be nerve-racking_, Scott thought.

"Ready for your first day?" Scott asked him.

"It's not my first day," he said with a small laugh. "I'm not even enrolled."

"Yet," Scott said with a grin. "Don't worry it's not so bad."

Isaac just smiled nervously.

"Well, let's get going," Melissa said. "I don't want to make a bad first impression by being late."

They got in the car and reversed down the driveway. Scott saw Isaac look up at him and he waved. Isaac waved back timidly and they were gone down the road. Scott turned to the garage and started walking. He looked up at the sky and said quietly, "Give him a chance."

He got his motorbike out, put on his helmet and drove off to school.

When he got there already dozens of people walking into the school and it was worse inside. The halls were crowded, as they always were, and Scott was shoved once or twice but he finally made it to his locker. He put in the combination and opened the locker door.

"Miss me?" he heard from a voice behind him. He turned around to see Stiles standing there with his arms open wide.

"Stiles," Scott said.

He rushed up beside him. "What's up, man? I barely heard from you this weekend! How's the new kid thing going?"

"His name is Isaac," Scott said flatly. "And it's not too bad. He's actually pretty cool."

Stiles made a sad face. "That's so cute."

"Shut up," Scott said with a smile.

"So what are you guys like best friends now? Am I out? Am I being replaced? I am, aren't I? You've replaced me. Two days? That's what it took-" the words came spilling out of his mouth.

"STILES," Scott yelled and put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Calm down. No one's getting replaced."

"Good," he said with an exaggerated sigh. He looked around the hallway, "Cuz I don't think anyone else could handle this." He made a sweeping gesture up his body.

"Good point," Scott said, laughing. Scott saw Stiles look behind him.

"She could," he said and Scott turned around. At the end of the hallway stood Lydia talking to Allison. He turned back around.

"You know you have absolutely no chance with her right?" he asked him.

"You say that now, but when she gets tired of Allison she'll come straight to me."

Scott laughed. "Sure." He closed his locker and they started walking down the hallway away from Lydia. "There has to be somebody else you could set your creepy eyes on."

Stiles looked at Scott and said in a feigned voice, "That hurt, Scott. I don't know why you treat me like this. I don't know. What about you? You have your eye on anyone?"

They passed the principal's office and inside Scott say his mom and Isaac sitting in waiting chairs. Isaac looked terrified.

"Whoa, was that him?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah, Isaac." Scott said.

"He's not what I expected. He hasn't tried to kill you yet has he?" he asked with a laugh.

Scott shoved him on the shoulder. "No, Stiles, he hasn't tried to kill me."

They walked into their first period class sat down at their adjacent desks.

"I'm just saying," Stiles said. "Sometimes kids from broken homes go berserk and just start…. maiming."

"When has that _ever_ happened?" Scott asked. "Name one time that's happened."

"W-well," Stiles started stuttering. "I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of crazy kids who kill people, ok?"

"Isaac's not crazy." Scott stated.

"You've known him two days. It took Andrea like weeks before she realized the Governor was crazy and kept floating zombie heads in his closet."

"Really?" Scott asked in disbelief. "You're throwing fictional characters at me now?"

Stiles threw his arms up and made a face. "Well…."

"I'm done talking about Isaac." Scott said and the bell rang.

"Ok, class let's get started. I know it's Monday but bear with me and the next hour will be as painless as possible," said Mrs. Blake, their English teacher. Scott remembered think she was young for a teacher on the first day of class. She's new this year so Scott didn't know much about her.

The rest of the day went rather quickly. Not a whole lot is ever done on the first day of the week, a blessing Scott was thankful for. He never really got up and running until about Thursday. After the final bell rang Scott went to his locker. He gathered his homework into his backpack and closed the door to find Stiles standing beside it again.

"Oh," Scott said, a little startled.

"Heads up, here comes killer! See you tomorrow." he said quickly and took off in the opposite direction.

"Who was that?" Isaac asked him.

"That's just Stiles." Scott replied.

"Why'd he run away?" he asked with a confused look.

"He's convinced you're a killer," Scott said as a matter of fact.

Isaac raised his eyebrows. "Oh!" he said. "Well, I'd watch your back then."

They laughed and Scott asked, "How'd the meeting go?"

"Good," he said. "He said I could start on Wednesday."

"That early?" Scott said with a little surprise.

"Yeah, they already printed up a schedule." He held up a piece of paper. "I've been walking through the halls between classes to get my bearings."

Scott made a face. "By yourself? Where'd my mom go?"

"She had to go to work. She was the one who told me to walk around and wait for you."

"All day? I didn't see you," They started walking down the hallway toward the door.

"Well I sort of hid in the bathroom until everyone was out of the hallway." Scott started to laugh and Isaac started to too. "I know. I'm a total baby."

"No, you're just nervous about starting a new school. We've all been through that. When I moved from the junior high to the high school I almost wet my pants on the first day, I was so nervous."

Isaac laughed, "Really?"

Scott nodded. "It was horrible! Stiles didn't even show up. He got one look at all the older kids and made his mom take him back home. He finally showed up on the third day."

Isaac smiled. "Well now I feel better."

They walked out the doors and to the parking lot. They got to Scott's motor bike and climbed on. Scott handed Isaac the helmet. "Here,"

"You're driving, you need it." He said.

"I've ridden this thing hundreds of times. You need it more." Scott said pushing the helmet into Isaac's hands. He took it and pulled it on.

"Thanks," he said and they took off toward home.

_Give him a chance,_ Scott thought.


	6. Chapter 6

When they got home Scott collapsed on the couch and Isaac snickered. "Your day was _that _rough, huh?"

"Hey," Scott said. "You'll understand."

Isaac walked to the chair and sat down. "Don't remind me."

Scott smiled a little. "Let me look at your schedule." Isaac handed him a piece of paper and Scott examined it. After a few moments Scott said, "Well, we have three classes together: English, chemistry, and American History."

"Well if I need help I'll know who to ask." Isaac said.

Scott laughed, "I think you'd have a better chance if you asked Lydia."

Isaac made a confused face, "Who's Lydia?"

"Lydia Martin. She's a crazy smart girl. I'll introduce you, she loves showing off," he said with a smile.

"Ok, thanks."

Scott handed back the paper and lay down and yawned. "Ugh, I'm tired." He got off the couch. "I think I'm going to go take a nap or something."

"O-ok," Isaac said and smiled. "I'll try not to kill you while you're asleep."

Scott laughed. "Thanks," and he walked up to his room leaving Isaac downstairs.

He collapsed on his bed and let out a big sigh. "Killer," he said quietly to himself. _Even as a joke it doesn't make sense_. How could Stiles think Isaac was a killer? He'd just have to get to know him.

Scott found himself trying to imagine what it was like for Isaac before he came here. What exactly happened when he was with his dad? How long had it been going on? Could Stiles be right? Is Isaac just trying to hide what's going on inside?

Scott couldn't keep out his curiosity so he got up and walked over to his desk. He opened his computer and opened Google. He typed "symptoms of parental abuse" into the search bar and a multitude of results popped up. He clicked on the first link and began reading.

He finally stopped when he heard his mother pull into the driveway. He'd been reading and searching for two hours. He closed his laptop and pulled back a little from the desk. _How could people treat their kids like that,_ he thought. He had read case studies and police reports among other things. He saw pictures of kids who had been beaten and abused a thousand different ways. Burned, broken limbs, starved, it was despicable. And that was what was visible. Emotional abuse is, in some ways, worse. And most of the kids blamed themselves! They felt they deserved it in some way. They tried to rationalize why a parent would do this and the only way to do that was to assume they were at fault.

Scott felt horrible. He had been treating Isaac like nothing had ever happened. That he was this normal kid who was staying with them for a while. _Isaac never said anything_, he thought. _But what if he was just hiding his emotions?_

He got up quickly from the chair and went downstairs. Melissa was walking through the front door with bags of groceries. "Oh, honey." She said. "Can you help me with these?"

Scott looked into the living room, Isaac wasn't there anymore. He looked back at his mom. "Sure," he said and took a few bags off her arm. They walked into the kitchen and set the bags onto the table.

"Where's Isaac?" Melissa asked.

Scott shook his head. "In his room, I guess."

They started to put away the groceries. "How was school?"

"Not too bad. How was work?"

Melissa sighed. "Horrible. We had a four year old come in with a hundred and one degree fever. Girl wouldn't stop crying and screaming. Then, we had a guy who crashed his car into a mailbox. You know, the big blue ones? He went on for ten minutes about how he was going to sue the city. The guy was drunk, can you believe that?"

"Sounds crazy," Scott said.

"Right? And then this poor girl came was brought in. She had a horrible epileptic seizure. I guess she had stopped taking her medication and so I had to tell her mother. Needless to say, she wasn't happy." She paused and looked at Scott. "Are you ok, honey? You look uneasy."

"Oh," Scott said. "I'm ok. Just fine," and he forced a smile. He was still thinking about what he just read.

Melissa didn't look convinced but she said, "Ok," and finished putting away the groceries. "Why don't you go upstairs and see what Isaac wants for dinner?" She asked him.

"Sure," Scott said and he turned and left the kitchen. He walked up the steps and down the hall to Isaac's room.

He knocked on the door and heard a faint "come in" from the other side. He opened the door to see Isaac sitting on his bed, reading one of his books.

"Mom wants to know what you want for dinner." Scott told him.

He looked confused. "I don't know, I guess whatever you guys want," he said.

Scott nodded and looked at Isaac.

"Are you ok?" He asked Scott.

"Yeah," Scott said quickly. "I was just thinking." A few moments passed before he said, "Ok, I'll let her know." And he closed the door.

After dinner Scott went to his room and Isaac to his. He went back to his computer and the research he was doing. It was around nine o'clock when Scott decided to go talk to Isaac.

He got up and walked out into the hallway. Scott could see light coming from under the door, indicating Isaac was awake. He went to his door and knocked. "Isaac?"

"Yeah?" Isaac asked in a weak voice.

"It's Scott," he said leaning into the door.

When he didn't hear anything Scott opened the door. Isaac was sitting on his bed again, this time without a book. Scott could see his eyes were red. _Was he crying?_

"Everything ok?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, perfect." Isaac replied, obviously not.

Scott walked over and took a seat next to him on the bed. "Isaac-"

"I said I'm fine." Isaac said forcefully looking him in the eye. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to you." Isaac didn't say anything so Scott continued. "I was reading online about… Well, about abuse victims and-"

Isaac suddenly looked angry and hurt. "What?"

"I wanted to know-"

"Know what? What I went through? 'Get to know me'?"

"No, I-"

"You think a Google search will be able to tell you all you need to know?" Isaac was getting red and Scott could see his eyes welling up.

Scott couldn't believe this. It's like he changed completely from the boy he knew earlier. "I just wanted to help-"

"I didn't ask for help," he said.

Scott got angry and couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth, "Well maybe if you would have you wouldn't be so fucked up."

Isaac went white, a tear fell from his eye, but his face didn't change. "Fuck you," he said quietly and stormed from the room. Scott had never seen someone so hurt.

"Isaac-" Scott yelled but he was gone. Scott got up and rushed from the room.

He went running down the steps and out the front door. Melissa was sitting on the couched and stood up as her son came down the stairs. "What happened? Where's he going?" she asked quickly.

"I don't know," Scott said hurriedly and ran out the door after Isaac, his mom behind him. They ran out into the street. It was dark and cold, and Isaac was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

"Scott," Melissa was shaking. "Get your bike, he can't be far. I'm going to call the sheriff." She turned and ran inside the house. Scott rushed to the garage and quickly grabbed his bike and sped out of the driveway.

_What the hell is wrong with you,_ Scott berated himself. He didn't mean to say what he did. He just wanted to help Isaac. But he threw it back at him and Scott got angry. _That's no excuse,_ he thought. He'd been a completely different person when he walked through that door. Scott thought about the library and how calm and, well, _normal_ Isaac was. _I'm such an asshole._

Maybe Isaac wasn't as stable as Scott thought he was. _What did your dad do to you? _he thought.

He drove down street after street and most of the town. There was no sign of him. Scott was becoming very worried and it was getting close to midnight now. _If anything happens to you I will never forgive myself. _The moon was high and bright in the sky and it was getting cold. _God damn it, Isaac. Where are you?_

He turned down a road and headed back toward the park one last time. He drove under the archway that led to the park and slowed down, keeping an eye out for Isaac. He rode past a small amphitheater and a baseball field the little league uses. Nothing.

He continued on the road and came to a playground. He was almost past when movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked quickly and saw what looked like an arm protruding out from behind a slide. Scott quickly grabbed the brake and jumped off his bike.

"Isaac?" He called at the shape. It immediately jumped up and starting walking away. "Isaac!"

"Go away, Scott." He called back angrily.

"Isaac, I'm sorry! Isaac stop!" Scott pleaded. "I was just trying to help!"

Isaac wheeled around. "Help? You think someone like me can be helped?"

Isaac was yelling so loudly in a voice that Scott had never heard before. He sounded like he was in so much pain. He looked like hell. His hair was a mess; it looked like he tried pulling it out. His eyes and cheeks were stained red.

"Yes, I do." Scott said just as loud.

"Well, then you don't know _shit_!" he threw back at him and turned back around and started walking away.

Scott stopped in his tracks. "What the hell did he do to you?" He asked indignantly, his face turning red with anger.

Isaac didn't stop walking.

"Do you think you're the only one who's been hurt by their father?" Scott called to him and he stopped about fifteen feet in front of him. "I haven't seen my dad in ten years. He left us when we needed him for some woman he met at a bar." He could feel the sting of tears in his eyes.

Isaac turned his head back to look at Scott. "Don't you dare pretend it's the same thing." He said in a whisper.

Scott looked at Isaac for a few moments. "What did he do?" Scott asked quietly.

Isaac just stared at Scott.

"Tell me," he pleaded. "So I can understand."

"Why do you have to understand?" he asked. "Why the hell can't you just leave it alone? My past is my own to deal with-,"

"But you're not dealing with it, Isaac." Scott said loudly. "You're burying it. You're hiding it so far down inside that it's tearing you apart."

Isaac just stared.

"I know that your life was shit, and maybe it still is, but you have to start trusting people again."

Scott could see tears start to fall from his eyes. "I can't," he said, almost too low for Scott to hear. "I've tried, but I can't." He looked at the ground.

Scott stepped closer, only a few feet stood between them. "It'll take time. You will."

Isaac looked back up at Scott. "What if I don't?" he looked like he was completely without hope.

"Then you don't." Scott said. "It'll just be a fact of life for you." Isaac looked at the ground and Scott came closer, about a foot away and put a hand on his shoulder. "And you have every right." Isaac looked at Scott. "Come over here and sit." Scott led him over to a bench on the edge of the playground. Isaac sat in silence looking at his hands in his lap. Scott looked out in front of him. "I don't know what happened to you. But it was enough to break you and from what I can tell, that's not easy." "What I _do_ know," he said looking at Isaac. "Is that you're strong enough to overcome whatever bullshit life threw at you when you were too young to handle it."

Isaac wiped his eyes with his shirt. "I don't know if I am," he said quietly.

Scott threw an arm around Isaac. "You don't have to know. I'm here to remind you. Maybe it was fate, then, that you came to us," he said with a smile.

Isaac didn't say anything.

Scott took his arm off and pulled out his phone and sent a text to his mom that he found Isaac, he's fine, and will be home when they were done talking. He put the phone back in his pocket and looked at Isaac.

They sat there quietly for a while just listening to the sounds in the wind; the insects, the frogs, an owl or two. Despite recent events it was a pretty peaceful and beautiful night.

"My dad, he," Isaac spoke up. "He wasn't always… the way he was." He began to look down and fidget with his hands. Scott only looked at Isaac in silence. "Well, at least, that's what I remember. He was a good guy, good husband, good job. He never drank, never yelled or got angry. Well, he did but it was never more than a stern look and hands on his hips." Isaac seemed to smile a little. "He was fun, actually. He'd give me piggyback rides until he collapsed with exhaustion. I remember this one time I actually threw his back out. He fell down and yelled 'Holy shit!'" Isaac threw his arms up and laughed a little. "I had no idea what was going on so I ran inside screaming 'dad's dying, dad's dying!' My mom was baking in the kitchen and when she heard me she dropped the bowl she was using and it shattered all over the floor. Turns out dad just strained his back and only needed a trip to a chiropractor."

"He sounded like a good dad." Scott said.

"He was," Isaac replied with a smile. And then his face turned dark and sad. "Then my mom died when I was six. She was leaving work like she did every day. She got two blocks when she got in an accident at a stop light. A semi had run the red light as she was starting to go and took off the front of her car." Isaac swallowed hard. "She, uh, was rushed to the hospital but there was nothing they could do. She was gone."

"I'm so sorry," Scott said quietly.

Isaac only nodded. "My dad was devastated. He'd barely come out of his room to eat or anything. My brother, he took it the worst. He had just turned eighteen the week before and decided that he was going to go off and join the military. I guess he couldn't stand to see my dad that way and just wanted to get away. I was just a kid so I didn't really understand what was happening." He wiped another tear from his eye. "My dad didn't seem to care what my brother did. He didn't even say goodbye when he was shipped off to some desert in the Middle East. After a year, my father started to come back. My brother was doing well over seas, he'd gone back to work, and I was starting second grade. Life was starting to go back to normal. And then we got a knock on our door from two men in uniform saying my brother was killed in combat." Isaac paused. He looked like he was trying to control himself.

Scott put his arm back around Isaac and gripped him tight.

"That was the final blow." Isaac's voice was barely more than a whisper now. "My dad couldn't feel anything after that. He went numb everywhere and started drinking everyday. He couldn't be sad anymore so he became angry and took it out on me. Every little thing set him off. I dropped a plate on the floor by accident once and he hurled the shards at me calling me 'stupid' and 'useless'."

Scott just sat in stunned silence.

"When things got really bad, he'd punish me by knocking me around or locking me in a broken freezer for days. He'd occasionally throw in food but he'd wait until I was near starved so I'd see that I still needed him."

_Oh my god,_ Scott thought.

Isaac looked at Scott. "I don't blame him for what he did. He endured something no husband or father should ever have to endure." He paused again and looked back down at his hands. "He pulled me out of school and started 'homeschooling' me, if you could call it that. He gave me books he found on the internet that were decades old and almost dust. Eventually he just gave up."

"How did no one know what was happening?" Scott asked.

"I never left the house." Isaac said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "When people would ask where I was he'd just tell them I was socially awkward and didn't like going out. It went on like that until I was fourteen. Almost _seven _yearsI never had friends, or birthday parties, or Christmases. All I had were the books on the shelves."

"Why didn't you try to tell anyone?"

"I tried once. I snuck out while my dad was passed out on the couch. I got halfway into the neighbor's yard when my dad tore out of the front door and dragged me back inside. It was pointless anyway. They weren't even home." He wiped his face again. "That's when he started locking me up when he left the house. It didn't matter; I was too scared to ever try again."

"How did you get away?" Scott asked.

"One night, when my dad got mad, he threw a plate at me. I picked up what was left and threw it back." Isaac paused. "I don't know why I did it. It didn't even feel like it was me throwing it. The shard cut him above his left eyes and he went down. He started to bleed really badly and he came after me. I ran to the door but it was locked. He was so fast.

I ran to a nearby window and broke it. I started to climb out of it but my dad grabbed my leg. I turned around and kicked him hard in the chest and went flying backwards. He landing and hit his head off the floor. He didn't get back up so I jumped out the window and ran. This time the neighbors were home and they called the police. My father was arrested and I was put into a psychiatric program for a year."

Scott was in stunned silence.

"During that time I was sent to several therapist and psychiatrists and I played the part. I acted like I was ok, that everything was fine, and they believed me. I guess I learned _something_ from my dad. They released me to Child Protective Services and they put me into foster care. I wasn't exactly the greatest kid. I was moved around a lot. I got in fights, made trouble for myself. That's when I met your mom. I had just been taken out of a home and they were going to move me to a shelter because they couldn't find a family that would take me. I had gotten into a fight with one of the foster kids I was living with and hurt myself pretty bad. The social worker brought me to your mom and she fixed me up and then offered to take me in." Isaac looked up. "I don't know why."

"She's a good person." Scott said.

Isaac smiled, "I know. I promised myself that I wouldn't be any trouble anymore. And I kept that promise for as long as I could. But, I don't know, I just started thinking and it all came back tonight. I'm sorry."

"No," Scott said. "No, no, no. You have nothing to be sorry for. I was an asshole earlier. _I'm_ the one that's sorry." He pulled Isaac in and hugged him. "You'll be ok," he told him. "You'll be ok." The parted and Scott looked at Isaac. "Come on. My mom's probably having an anxiety attack."

They got up from the bench, wiped the tears from their eyes and walked over to the bike. They slowly got on and rode toward home.


	8. Chapter 8

When they got back home Melissa was standing on the porch with Stiles' dad, the sheriff. She saw Scott and Isaac pull into the driveway and ran down the steps mid-sentence. "Isaac!" she screamed. They hopped off the bike and Melissa flew her arms around Isaac. She pulled away and looked at him. HE was still a mess. "Oh my god, are you ok? What happened?"

"I'm fine," he said. "I just needed to get away for a little bit."

She made a face that Scott knew meant she was conflicted.

"Let's just get him inside," Scott suggested.

Melissa looked at Scott and then back at Isaac. "Are you sure you're ok?" she asked.

Isaac forced a smile and said, "Yeah."

Scott put an arm around Isaac and led through the yard and into the house. They went upstairs and went down the hall to Isaac's room. Scott stopped them in front of the door. "Isaac," he said and Isaac looked at him. "I just wanted to say, again, that I'm _sorry_."

Isaac made an emotionless smile. "Don't worry about it," he said quietly and went inside the room. He closed the door behind him and left Scott alone in the hallway.

He stood there for a minute, just staring at the door, seemingly paralyzed. _I can't _not _worry about it, _he thought. What Isaac told him was deeply personal and Scott knew he'd never told anyone that before. He wanted to open the door and talk to Isaac. _He needs time to recover,_ Scott thought and turned away from the door. He walked downstairs to find his mom and Sheriff Stilinski standing in the living room.

"Thank you for coming out, sheriff," Melissa said. She was still shaking a bit, Scott could see. "I just didn't know what else to do."

"Oh, it's no problem. We get runaway calls at least twice a month." He said smiling. He looked at Scott coming down the stairs. "How's he doing?"

"He's better," Scott said with a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear," he turned back to Melissa. "You need anything else don't hesitate to call."

"Ok, thank you, sheriff." She said.

He turned and walked toward the door, nodded goodbye to Scott as he left the house. Melissa looked at Scott. "What happened?" she asked exhaustedly.

Scott moved over to the couch and sat down and his mom followed. "I went to talk to Isaac after dinner and when I went in his room it looked like he'd been crying. I asked him if he was ok and he told me he was fine. He obviously wasn't so I tried to tell him I wanted to help. I told him I looked online about abuse victims and he lost it. He said he didn't ask anyone's help." Scott paused remembering the conversation.

"What made him run out of the house?" His mom asked.

_Well maybe if you would have you wouldn't be so fucked up._

Scott looked down, ashamed. "I got angry and I said something I wish I didn't and he left."

She put a hand on Scott's. "What did you say?"

Scott looked up at his mother. He hesitated before he spoke. He looked back down, unable to look at her. "I was so…. a_ngry. _I just wanted to help him and he threw it in my face. It was like he was a completely different person."

"What did you _say_, Scott?"

"I-," he started to say. He swallowed hard before he spoke again. "I told him that maybe if he _did_ ask for help he wouldn't be so messed up."

He heard his mom make a small gasp. "Scott," she whispered.

"You can't make me feel worse than I already do." He said quietly. Minutes seemed to pass as they just sat there.

"Where did you find him?" She asked, finally.

Scott looked up. "At the park. He was sitting next to a slide."

"God," Melissa said, looking down and closing her eyes. "I'm going to go talk to him." She started to get up when Scott stopped her.

"No, let him be alone for a bit. We can talk to him tomorrow."

She sat back down and put her head in her hands. "I don't think he should go to school."

"What?" Scott asked with a bit of surprise.

Melissa lifted her head and pointed a finger at the stairs. "He obviously can't handle the stress."

"Are you kidding?" Scott's voice was rising.

"You have one conversation about what happened to him and look what he did." She paused and looked at her son. "What do you think those kids at school will do to him?"

Scott only stared.

Melissa grabbed Scott's hands and looked him in the eye. "He's a new kid, Scott. They would judge him the second he walked through the door."

Scott paused. "He wants this, mom," he said in a low voice. "He wants a normal life. You can't take something else from him."

She looked like Scott just slapped her. "You think I don't know that, Scott? You think I don't want him to have the life he wants, not to mention deserves?"

"Then let him go to school! Let him go on Wednesday and if he can't handle it then take him out." Scott looked her in the eyes. "At least give him a chance."

Melissa leaned back. She thought a moment and said, "Ok." She looked at the stairs. "I'm worried about him."

"I know mom," he said.

Melissa wiped her eyes and got up. "You should probably go to bed. You've got school tomorrow."

"Yeah," Scott said getting up. He walked over to his mom and gave her a hug. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, honey." She whispered.

He pulled away and walked up the stairs. He got to his door and looked down the hall. Isaac's room was dark, no light coming under the door. He felt an urge to make sure he was ok and started toward his door. He gently twisted the knob and opened the door. Lying on his bed, framed in moonlight from the window, Isaac was sleeping. _He looks so peaceful,_ Scott thought. The boy he saw earlier with so much pain and despair was gone. Scott guessed the only time Isaac could truly relax was when he was asleep.

Scott closed the door and returned to his room. He walked over to his bed and let himself fall on top of it. He was so _exhausted_. This night had been one from hell and he didn't think this would be the last he'd have to endure.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning was kind of a blur. Scott was still exhausted from the night before and he got very little sleep. He got ready for school as he always did and left the room. He looked down the hallway at Isaac's room. His door was still closed. _I guess he's staying in bed,_ Scott thought.

Before he left the house he grabbed a Pop-Tart for breakfast. His mom hated when he wouldn't eat a good breakfast but sometimes Scott didn't have time or he didn't care.

Today it was the latter.

He went to the garage to get his bike. Melissa had left already because today was supposed to be busy at the hospital and she wanted to get there early to prepare. He hopped on and left down the road.

Scott's morning classes went by at an agonizingly slow pace. By the time lunch rolled around he was half dragging himself to the cafeteria. Stiles was already at the table when he sat down with his tray.

"Dude," Stiles said immediately after he sat down. "What the hell happened last night?"

"Don't worry about it," Scott said trying to avoid the subject.

"What do you mean 'don't worry about it'? My best friend is living with a psychopath-,"

Scott was suddenly filled with anger. "He's _not_ a psychopath," he said forcefully.

Stiles sat back in his seat a look of confusion on his face.

Scott let himself calm down. "I'm sorry," he said. He rubbed his eyes. "I didn't sleep that well last night."

"I wouldn't either with Isaac down the hall," Stiles said under his breath.

Scott looked at Stiles. "What's your problem with him?"

"He's dangerous, Scott. Those kids always are. You think a normal kid just runs away out of nowhere without any explanation?"

"'_Those_ kids'," Scott repeated with an edge. "You have _no_ idea what happened."

"I know that he was in psychiatric care for a year. I know a kid like that doesn't come away from what he did without something broke." Scott was in disbelief. "My dad's the sheriff. I know things."

"You don't know anything," Scott said and Stiles looked like he punched him. He almost got up to leave when Lydia and Allison came and sat down at the table.

Lydia looked at the two of them, "Do I sense a little tension?" she asked.

"No," Scott said trying to end the conversation.

Stiles looked at Scott and then to Lydia. "Scott's living with a crazy person and he can't see it,"

"Isaac's not crazy!" Scott raised his voice at Stiles.

"How's he crazy?" Lydia asked Stiles.

"Well, for starters, he's an abuse victim who spent years being locked up and psychologically tortured by his dad." Lydia put her hand to her mouth and gasped. "Yeah," Stiles said in affirmation. "He freaked out last night at Scott's house and ran away."

"Scott, is that true?" Allison asked.

Scott looked at Allison. "He's _not_ crazy," he said, calmer now. "He's just had a hard life. Besides, it wasn't entirely his fault."

She seemed to have considered what he said. "Can I meet him?" She asked.

Scott was surprised. He'd wanted to introduce them to Isaac before they found out about what happened to him. Maybe then they wouldn't judge him like Stiles. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said. "I want to meet him."

Lydia looked at Allison. "You do?" she asked her in a disbelieving tone. Allison nodded and Lydia let out a sigh as she looked at Scott. "When can we meet him?"

* * *

"I don't like this,"

"Shut up Stiles," Lydia said as they crossed the yard up to Scott's house. "Have you even talked to him?"

"No," he said.

"Then how do you know he's crazy?"

"Did you even hear what I told you at lunch?"

Scott stopped them on the steps and looked at Stiles. "If you in _any_ way bring up his past or what happened last night, I swear to God Stiles, I'll leave you in the woods somewhere."

Stiles lifted his hands in a defensive posture. "Message received."

"And be nice. He doesn't know very many people."

They went inside and Scott told them to sit in the living room while he gets Isaac. He climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to Isaac's room. The door was still closed but he could hear movement beyond the door. He knocked and said, "Isaac? It's Scott."

"Come in," he heard and opened the door. Isaac was sitting on his bed with one of his books. He looked up when he saw Scott and smiled. "What's up?"

Scott pointed behind him. "I've got some people I want you to meet." Isaac's seemed to tense. "They're friends of mine. I think you'll like them." _Maybe not Stiles,_ Scott thought.

"O-ok," Isaac said nervously and slowly put the book down. He got up off the bed and walked over to Scott.

"Don't be nervous," Scott said reassuringly. "You'll be fine." Isaac smiled timidly. They walked to the end of the hallway and started down the stairs. Allison and Lydia got up from the couch when they heard them coming down the stairs. Stiles stayed seated.

Allison was the first to introduce herself, "Hi, I'm Allison." She held out her small hand and Isaac shook it.

"Isaac," he told her shyly.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a smile.

He smiled back, "You too."

Lydia came up beside her and held her hand out too, "Lydia. Lydia Martin."

Isaac shook it. "The smart one," he said with recognition. "Scott told me about you."

Lydia smiled and looked at Scott briefly and back at Isaac. "Oh? What did he say?"

"That you're like a genius and if I ever needed help to come talk to you."

"'Help'?" she repeated, confused looking at Scott. "Help with what?"

"With school," Scott said. "He's starting tomorrow."

Stiles spoke up suddenly, "What?"

"Oh," Lydia said with surprised enthusiasm. "Well I'll definitely try!"

Scott gestured over at Stiles who was still sitting in one of the chairs. "And that's Stiles."

Isaac walked over to him and held out his hand. "I'm Isaac."

Stiles looked at his hand and then to Scott. _He knows I'm serious_, Scott thought. Stiles looked back and Isaac and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said with what looked to Scott like a forced smile.

A few moments of awkward silence passed when Allison spoke up, "So your starting school tomorrow? Are you nervous?"

"A little," Isaac said. "I was homeschooled for most of my life. I don't really know what to expect."

"Well if you have any trouble find one of us," Lydia said. "And if anyone tries to mess with you I have three people in my phone who will kick their ass."

Isaac laughed, "Thank you, but I don't think that will happen."

"Well the options there," Lydia said with a friendly smile.

Scott saw Stiles roll his eyes.

"Well, we gotta get going," Allison said. "Lydia and I have a dinner to get to and she needs at least two hours minimum to get ready."

"Hey!" Lydia said, feigning insulted. "This," she gestured up and down her body. "takes time."

Allison laughed a little and smiled at Isaac. "I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow." He nodded and they left waving goodbye. Stiles got up from the chair and walked toward the door. He looked at Isaac and quickly said, "It was nice to meet you," before turning and walking out the door.

"You too," Isaac said as Stiles walked down the steps. He turned to Scott, "Is he ok?"

Scott looked at Stiles getting into his jeep and sighed. "He's…. difficult. You'll get used to him." _I hope._


	10. Chapter 10

Scott and Isaac were sitting on the couch when Melissa burst through the door. Scott almost had a heart attack and Isaac jumped half out of his skin. "Oh, thank God." She said when she saw them. She was carrying more grocery bags and completely out of breath. "I was coming home from work and realized I had nothing for dinner." She set the bags on the ground. "There's more in the car, can you boys help me?"

"Jesus, mom. You scared me," Scott said breathing hard. He pulled out his inhaler and took a puff. Isaac started laughing quietly.

"Sorry honey, I just couldn't hold these bags anymore."

Scott and Isaac got up and helped her with the groceries. When dinner was ready they sat down at the table to eat. His mom had made what looked like meatloaf, but who knew for sure? She made mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and green beans to go with it.

"This is really good, Miss McCall," Isaac said.

"I thought I told you to call me Melissa," his mom replied.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "It's really good, Melissa."

"Thank you," she said with a satisfied smile.

Scott snickered and Isaac looked at him with a smile.

"So how was school?" She asked Scott.

"Fine," he said picking up his iced tea. "Another exciting day."

"Sarcasm," Melissa said. "Really?"

"Just a tiny bit," Scott replied. He saw Isaac smile over his cup.

She looked at Isaac. "Makes you want to look forward to it, doesn't it."

Isaac laughed, "Oh, ya."

They finished eating and then Scott and Isaac helped clean up the kitchen. When they were finished they went to their rooms. Scott had homework and Isaac wanted to figure out what he was going to wear on his first day of school. He actually seemed to be excited!

Scott finished his homework and got ready for bed. He pulled on his pajamas, brushed his teeth and collapsed into bed. He was lying there when someone knocked on the door. "Scott?" It was his mom.

"Yeah, mom?"

She opened the door. "Hey, I've got to go to the hospital, it's my turn for the night shift."

"Ok," Scott said.

"I looked in on Isaac, he's already asleep. I'll probably be back when you wake up."

"Ok, see you tomorrow."

"Alright, night honey."

"Night," and she closed the door. Scott laid his head down and went back to sleep.

A scream pierced the darkness and Scott shot up out of bed.

_Isaac._

He rushed out of the door and ran down the hall to his room and threw open the door. Isaac was thrashing on his bed, screaming.

"NO! NO! STOP! I'M SORRY!"

His eyes were closed. _He's having a nightmare. _Scott ran to his bed. "Isaac, ISAAC!" He wouldn't stop yelling. Kicking and screaming all over.

"DAD! I'M SORRY! PLEASE STOP! PLEASE!"

_Oh my God. _Scott tried to control Isaac's thrashing. He grabbed his arms and held them down. "Isaac, you're ok! You're ok! ISAAC!"

Isaac's eyes flew open wide. He was shaking terribly and scared out of his mind. Tears were running down his face.

"You're ok," Scott said again quieter. "I'm here."

Isaac wrapped around Scott and held him tight. "S-Scott," he said quietly, the shaking making him stutter.

"You're not alone. I'm here," Scott whispered trying to calm him down. His eyes were still wide with fear.

"I'm ok," he kept whispering to himself. "I'm ok." He released his grip on Scott and sat up. He wiped his eyes and composed himself. He looked at Scott. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be sorry," Scott told him and put a hand on Isaac's back. "I'd be surprised if you didn't get nightmares." Scott got up from the bed and started toward the door.

"Scott," Isaac said and Scott turned around. "Could you…. stay here? With me?" He looked ashamed to be asking. "Just for tonight?"

"Sure," Scott said. It's the least he could do. He walked over to Isaac's bed and crawled in next to him.

"Thank you," Isaac whispered.

"Don't worry about it," Scott said and laid an arm around Isaac. "You're safe here. You don't have to be afraid."

"I know," his voice was barely a whisper. "I just can't escape. Every night I go back there. With him."

Scott tightened his hold on Isaac.

"He's gone, Isaac. You'll never have to see him again." Scott knew that wasn't true but he couldn't stand to see Isaac this way.

"I see him every time I close my eyes," Isaac said. "He'll never be gone."

Scott didn't know what to say. There was nothing _to _say. Only time can fix what broke Isaac.

Scott wished he could say something that would make him feel better. He wished he could make him forget about what his dad had done to him. He knew his soul would always be scarred and he would always be haunted by what he'd done.

"It'll get better, Isaac." He told him. "I promise."

Isaac turned over and looked into Scott's eyes. After a moment he said, "I believe you."

Isaac closed his eyes and, after a while, finally went to sleep. Scott found himself thinking, again, how peaceful he looked. And within a few minutes fell asleep too.


	11. Chapter 11

"Isaac," Scott whispered in his ear. "Time to wake up." Isaac made a noise as he slowly opened his eyes. "You don't want to be late for your first day, do you?"

He turned over at looked at Scott and smiled a little, "You stayed," he said sleepily.

"Of course I stayed," Scott started to get up from the bed.

"I figured you'd leave when I went to sleep,"

Scott walked to the door and looked at Isaac. He smiled and said, "Get ready, we're leaving in an hour," and turned to leave.

"Scott," Isaac said quickly. Scott turned around looked at Isaac. "Thank you," he said softly.

Scott gave him a sympathetic smile, "No problem," and he turned and left. The thought of leaving never entered Scott's mind. In fact, those few hours with Isaac gave him the best sleep he's had in weeks. He went to his room and took a quick shower.

After last night, Scott was concerned about how today might go. But he trusted that Isaac could handle it. After all, he has friends now. Lydia and Allison will be there to help him and so will he. _He'll be fine,_ Scott thought as he got dressed. He left his room and went downstairs to find his mom walking through the door. "Hey!"

She looked at him and said, well, not so much said as made a sound, "Ugh." She dragged herself over to the couch and collapsed face first.

Scott let out a small laugh, "Rough night?" he asked.

She lifted her head out of the cushion a little and said "So much paper."

"Right," Scott said smiling, walking to the kitchen. "Get some rest, mom." He walked through the kitchen and got into a cabinet for a Pop-Tart. He took one and started to walk away when he stopped. _Isaac._ He turned around and grabbed another. He walked into the living room; his mom was still sprawled out on the couch. _Guess she's sleeping here._ Isaac was still upstairs so Scott decided to check on him. He put the Pop-Tarts in his coat pocket by the stairs and climbed the stairs.

He walked down the hall to Isaac's door and knocked. "Isaac? How ya doin'?" He heard a loud _thud_ and quickly opened the door. Isaac was squirming on the floor attempting to pull on some jeans.

"I don't think these fit," he said and stood up. He pulled off the pants and threw them on the bed.

Scott averted his eyes. "Uh, no, I don't think so," he said with a laugh.

"I'll be ready in a second," Isaac said and Scott nodded, quickly closing the door. Scott cleared his throat and shook his head. He went back downstairs, put on his jacket, and waited for Isaac.

A few minutes later he came down the stairs in jeans that fit and grabbed his jacket off the wall. He looked at Melissa on the couch. "Long night?"

Scott looked at his mom and smiled, "Apparently. Ready to go?"

Isaac took a deep breath. "Yeah, I think so."

They walked out the door and down the steps to the garage. There was a chill in the air that made Scott zip up his jacket. He pulled out the bike and they pulled on their helmets. Within seconds they were on the bike and off down the road, Isaac, again, holding on as if his life depended on it.

They pulled into the parking lot of the school and to Scott's normal spot. Waiting there was Stiles, his arms crossed. When he saw them approaching he seemed to tense. They didn't even get off the bike before he started talking. "Oh, Isaac, I forgot today was your first day," he said anxiously.

"No you didn't," Scott said in the same tone and took his helmet off.

"Your right. Anyway, I need to talk to you. Like now."

"Can it wait?" He gestured at Isaac, "I'm gonna show Isaac to his locker."

Stiles looked at Isaac briefly and then back to Scott. "Fine," and started walking toward the school.

"So he really doesn't like me, does he?" Isaac said as they started walking.

Scott looked at Stiles walking up ahead of them. "He's just…. I don't know, actually. He's kind of indescribable." Isaac smiled. "He just has to get to know you is all."

"Yeah, well," he said as they climbed the steps to the school. "He doesn't look too interested in trying."

They walked into the school and started down the long hallway. It seemed like everyone was watching them as they passed. Scott looked over at Isaac who had his head down. They finally reached Isaac's locker and he put in his combination. After the third spin it clicked and opened. "It worked," Isaac said with a satisfied smile.

"Now let's go get some books to fill it," Scott said and Isaac closed the door.

"Hey!" Scott looked past Isaac and standing five feet away was Lydia. "Oh my god! Our lockers are like right next to each other!"

Scott put a hand on Isaac's shoulder. "God help you," he said quietly and Isaac laughed.

Lydia came over to them, "So what do you think?" she asked Isaac.

"I don't really know, we just got here," he said with a nervous smile.

"And we're gonna be late so let's get going," Scott said and they left down the hall.

They came to their first class of the morning, English, and Isaac took an empty seat next to Scott. Stiles was already in his seat and was fidgeting with his hands. He looked so tense.

It seems every eye in the room was on him and everyone was whispering. The bell rang and Mrs. Blake stood up from her desk. "Good morning, class," she said over the sounds of clatter from the other students. "Today, we have a new student! Isaac, would you come up here please?"

Isaac gave Scott a nervous look, "You'll be fine," he whispered to him.

He got up and walked to the front of the class. "This is Isaac Lahey," Mrs. Blake said gesturing to Isaac. He lifted his arm and quickly waved at the class. "This is his first day of high school so be kind and welcoming. Isaac," she said turning to him and smiling. "I hope you enjoy your time here and welcome."

"Thank you," he said and quickly returned to his seat. Scott could see he was glad to be sitting again.

The rest of the morning went by pretty quick. After first period Isaac had separate classes so Scott wouldn't see him until lunch. Stiles pretty much kept his distance all morning. Something was up with him and Scott couldn't tell what. Was he really that crazy about Isaac? Eventually lunch came and Scott saw Isaac coming to the table with his tray.

"So," Scott said as Isaac sat down next to him. "How's your day been?"

"Not too bad," he said smiling and with a bit of excitement. "I like it here. Everyone's being really nice."

Scott smiled, "Good!" He couldn't believe how well things were going. He thought for sure that by this time Isaac would be full on fetal position in a bathroom stall. "I'm glad."

Allison and Lydia came a short time later and sat down. Lydia looked at the empty seat to Scott's left. "Where's Stiles?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him." Scot replied. He looked around the room, "Oh, there he is." He was just walking into the cafeteria with something in his hands.

He quickly walked over to Scott and leaned in. "I need to talk to you," he whispered.

Scott got up and followed him away from the table to the back of the room. He handed Scott the papers. "There's something Isaac hasn't told you."

Scott unfolded the papers, "What are these?" he asked, confused.

"It's the police report from the night Isaac ran away from his dad."

Scott looked up at Stiles. "Why do you have these?" he asked, anger rising.

"Because I knew something was off about him and I was right."

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked.

"Read," Stiles said pointing at the papers.

Scott looked at the papers and started reading. When he finished he couldn't believe it. _He lied?_ Scott looked at Isaac. He was laughing. Isaac turned his head and looked at him and smiled. He quickly smiled back and Isaac turned back to Allison and Lydia.

"Scott, Isaac's dad is dead. He killed him."


	12. Chapter 12

"Do believe me now?"

Scott looked down at the paper and then up to Stiles. "I don't know what you think this means."

"It means Isaac has major childhood trauma issues," he paused and looked at Scott.

"What?"

"You just don't look that surprised. Has he talked to you about this?"

Scott remembered there conversation the other night at the park_. _The memory gave him a chill up his spine. "Yes, he told me what happened." _Well, not _everything_._

Stiles made a dramatic face, "And you don't think there's any reason to be cautious?"

Scott held up the papers, "You read the report, right?" Stiles nodded his head. "Then you know that Isaac was evaluated by _professionals_ and they said he was fine."

_I acted like I was ok, that everything was fine, and they believed me. I guess I learned _something_ from my dad._

"So get over this… _obsession _you have with trying to prove Isaac is somehow dangerous. It's people like you who are the reason people like Isaac feel so _fucking _ostracized and unwelcome in society. Everyone thinks they're so fucked up they can't possibly be like us. Isaac is just a normal kid who's had a lot of _bad_ shit happen to him. End of story." Scott pushed the papers into Stiles hand and turned to go back to the table before Stiles could open his mouth. Halfway back Scott stopped and turned around.

_Damn it, Stiles. _

He walked back over to his friend. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do… that."

Stiles looked at him for a long moment. "Apology accepted," he said finally.

"You just don't know him," Scott said. "Come over after school and just hang out. Spend some time with him." Scott could see the disinterest written on Stiles' face. "Please? I can't have my best friend and my new.. friend fighting with each other." Even though he could be a total pain in the ass, Scott could never truly be mad at Stiles.

Stiles looked at him for a few moments. "I just don't want you and your mom to get hurt."

Scott put a hand on Stiles' shoulder. "No one's going to get hurt."

"Fine," he said after a moment of consideration. "I'll go. On one condition."

"Name it," Scott said quickly. "Whatever gets this behind us."

"I have to be best man when you and Isaac get married," he said with a smile.

Scott turned and walked away from Stiles.

"Come on!" Stiles yelled. "I was _joking_!"

Scott walked back to the table and sat down. "Everything ok?" Allison asked. "It looked like things got pretty heated over there."

Scott looked back over at Stiles who was now on his way over. "Yeah, we're all good now."

"You sure?" Isaac asked with a smile.

Scott turned to Isaac and after a few moments found himself staring at his mouth and fidgeting with his ring finger. Scott quickly shook his head, pushing away a particular train of thought, and looked at his tray. "Absolutely! Yeah, just fine."

_Subtle_, Scott thought as Stiles sat down next to him. "So what's for lunch?" Stiles asked to no one in particular.

"Steak," Lydia said without missing a beat.

"Are you serious?" Stiles stood up to get a good look at the lunch line. "Hot damn!" He quickly took off to stand in line.

"He's about to be very disappointed," Lydia said and they all started laughing.

After school, Scott was at his locker when Isaac came up beside him, his backpack on his shoulder. "Hey, how was your first day?" Scott asked enthusiastically.

"Not too bad," he said with a grin. "Not what I expected."

"Is that good or bad?"

"It's good," he said, laughing a little.

"Do you like your teachers?" Scott finished loading his backpack and closed his locker.

"For the most part," he said. They turned and headed down the hallway toward the door.

"Who don't you like?" Scott asked. "Is it Harris?"

Isaac looked down at Scott. "How'd you know?"

"Because nobody likes him," Scott said and they laughed as they left the building.

The parking lot was fairly empty by the time they got to Scott's bike. The kids at Beacon Hills High tend to treat the end of a school day like an escape from prison. They climbed on and took off for home.

They walked through the door and Scott threw his backpack on the floor. Isaac started to make his way up the stairs. He couldn't get the lie out of his head. _He killed him. _"Isaac," Scott said quickly.

He turned around on the stairs. "Yeah?"

Scott hesitated. _He's not ready to tell me. _"Uh, Stiles is coming over later. I just wanted to give you a heads up."

Isaac smiled. "Thanks. I'll make sure to stay in my room."

Scott narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What? Why?"

"Well he clearly doesn't like me very much,"

"That's not true," Scott said. Isaac didn't look convinced. "Not _completely _true."

"See?" He started to go up the stairs.

"Isaac," he stopped and turned back around with a sigh. "I invited him over so he could hang out and get to know you and see you like I do."

Isaac looked at him for a few moments. "How do you see me?" Isaac asked quietly.

Scott was at a loss for words. "I-,"

Before he could speak Melissa came through the door. "Oh," she said, surprised. "Hello boys. You just get home?"

"Yeah," Scott said quickly. "How was work?"

She passed Scott and went to sit on the couch. She threw herself down and sighed. "Explain to me why I work."

"Money,"

Melissa made a disgusted face, "Oh, yeah." She paused, staring off into space. "Money's overrated."

Scott and Isaac laughed. They shared a look and Isaac went upstairs, Scott looking after him. He walked over to the couch and took a seat next to his mother.

She put a hand on his knee. "How was school? How'd he do?"

"It was good. He did fine. No hard time from anyone, likes his classes, hates Mr. Harris."

Melissa smiled. "Well there's something you two can bond over."

Scott laughed a little. "Stiles is coming over later."

"Ok. Is he staying for dinner?"

Scott shook his head. "No, I don't think so." He looked up at the stairs. "I don't think he'll be here long."

Melissa took a deep breath and got up from the couch. "Break over," she said and walked to the stairs. "I'm gonna get the hell out of this uniform," and disappeared upstairs.

Scott leaned back into the couch. Stiles was coming soon and neither he or Isaac wanted to be there. This whole situation was becoming ridiculous. Scott was afraid that one day he might be forced to choose and he didn't know who it would be. Stiles is his best friend but Isaac stirred something else in him. He feels a connection to him that he doesn't have with Stiles.

He prayed it wouldn't come to that.


	13. Chapter 13

It was six o'clock when Stiles showed up at the house.

"It's about time you got here," Scott said as he closed the door behind him.

Stiles took a seat on the couch. "Sorry, honey, late night at the office," he said with a grin and looked around. "So where is he?"

Scott walked over to the chair and sat down. "He's out with my mom. They'll be back any minute."

Stiles made a face. "Out?"

"They went to the store or something."

"Your mom goes to the store a lot," Stiles said flatly.

"She never gets what she needs," Scott replied.

Stiles nodded his head. "So what's the plan for tonight? We gonna sit in a circle, hold hands, and tell each other secrets?"

"Damn it, Stiles," For once Scott wished Stiles could be serious. "This is important to me."

"I know, Scott," he said defensively. "It was just a joke. Lighten up!" When Scott didn't smile he must have got the message. "Look, I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to judge Isaac when I didn't really know him. Or care to."

Scott nodded slowly and leaned forward. "Don't tell me," Scott said softly. "Tell him."

Stiles looked down for a moment and then looked back up. "Do I have to-,"

"STILES,"

"Ok," Stiles threw his hands up in a defensive posture. "I'll apologize, geez!"

"Thank you," Scott said sitting back in the chair. _Maybe this will finally be over. _Just then Scott heard a car pulling into the driveway. "They're back," he said getting up.

A moment later Melissa walked through the door carrying a few bags; Isaac behind her with a few himself. She walked passed Scott, "Hey, honey," and then saw Stiles. "Stiles, nice to see you," she said with a tone of familiarity.

"You too, Mrs. McCall," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Stiles," Isaac gave him a nod and followed Melissa into the kitchen.

"Isaac," Stiles replied with a nod of his own.

Scott sat back down in the chair and looked at Stiles. "Please."

Stiles looked at Scott for a long moment and then nodded. "Ok," he said with a tone that seemed surprisingly….. thoughtful.

"Ok what?" Isaac asked as he entered the room.

"Uh, nothing," Stiles said quickly as he got up from the couch and walked over to Isaac. "I just came over because I wanted to… _apologize_.. for the way I've been acting towards you. It wasn't fair of me."

Isaac glanced at Scott and then back to Stiles. He smiled a little and said, "I thought I sensed a little hostility," and held out his hand.

Stiles looked at it and then to Scott. After a moment he took Isaac's hand and shook it.

"Apology accepted," and Isaac released his grip.

Stiles nodded his head and Scott stood up and smiled. He put a hand on each of their shoulders and looked at them both. "Awww. My friends."

Isaac laughed.

Stiles shrugged off his hand. "Cute," he said flatly.

"Hey, are you hungry? I was thinking we could go out for pizza or something."

Stiles shook his head. "Nah, I have homework and my dad's really been riding my ass lately. He wants this year to be 'big' for me."

Scott let out an accidental snicker.

"Really? My dad shows he cares about my education and you laugh?"

"No, I mean, he's just going to be disappointed," Scott said, barely containing laughter. Isaac was trying to keep himself from smiling.

Stiles laughed, mocking them and immediately went as still as stone. "You're hilarious. I'm leaving. See you at school." He turned and headed for the door.

"Bye," Scott said, still giggling.

"I'm sorry, Stiles," Isaac yelled after him.

"Yeah, yeah," he said and was out the door.

Scott turned to Isaac. "What about, you? Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I could eat."

Scott smiled. "Awesome, I'll go tell my mom we're leaving."

"Alright," Isaac said.

Scott went into the kitchen and his mom was still putting things away. "Didn't you _just_ go to the store the other day?"

She stood up from one of the cabinets and looked at him. "I forgot some stuff."

Scott raised his eyebrows. "'Some'?"

Melissa put a hand on her hip. "Hey, some people can't afford to have stuff like this." She gestured around the kitchen. "You should be grateful."

Scott shook his head. "Well, me and Isaac are going to go out for pizza."

Melissa let out a long sigh. "First of all, 'Isaac and I'. I didn't send you to school for you to sleep through it. And second," she said and hesitated. "Good, because I don't have anything to fix. DAMN IT."

Scott laughed. "We'll bring you back something."

"Thank you," she said and went back to putting the groceries away.

Scott returned to the living room and Isaac was standing by the door. "Ready to go?" Scott asked.

"Yup,"

They left the house and got the motorbike out of the garage. They hopped on and took off down the road.

The sun was starting to set as they pulled into the parking lot of a local pizza place. They hopped off and headed inside. The restaurant was pretty crowded but they were seated rather quickly seeing as how there were only two of them. They took their seats in a booth and the waitress handed them menus and took their drink order and left. They both ordered Iced Teas.

"So what should we order?" Scott asked.

"I don't know," Isaac said looking through the menu. "What's good?"

"Well, the pizza's pretty good," Scott replied. "So are the sandwiches. Pretty much anything but the mozzarella sticks. Those taste like ass."

Isaac looked up from his menu with a smile. "Ass, huh? And how do you know what ass tastes like?"

Scott faked a laugh. "Funny," he said. "That's really clever."

Isaac did a little bow in his seat. "I'm here all week." He looked back down at his menu. "So," he said. "How'd you get him to do it?"

"Him do what?" Scott asked confused.

"Stiles,"

"Oh," Scott said. "He has to be best man at our wedding."

Isaac's laughed and looked confused. "What?"

"It was his only condition," Scott said laughing.

The waitress returned with their drinks and set them on the table. They said thanks and she walked away.

"Why would he say that?" Isaac asked still smiling.

Scott shrugged. "It's Stiles. I have no idea." He found himself rubbing his ring finger again and immediately stopped. He picked up his cup and took a long drink.

"Still," Isaac started to say. "We'd make a pretty hot couple."

Scott starting choking and soon everyone in the restaurant was looking at them.


	14. Chapter 14

Their waitress had come and taken their order. Scott ordered them a medium pepperoni pizza. "Alrighty," she said smiling really big. "I'll put the order in!" She took their menus and walked away.

"I haven't had pizza in a long time," Isaac said smiling. "I'm excited!"

Scott couldn't help but giggle. "Excited? Really?"

Isaac laughed. "Yes, I'm excited! So are you sure you're ok?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah," Scott gestured to his throat. "Just went down the wrong pipe." He wanted nothing more than to move on from what just happened. "So did you meet any new people today?"

Isaac gave Scott a look that said he knew what Scott was doing but he went along anyway. "Yeah, a few. There was a girl in my art class. I think her name was Erica? I can't really remember."

Scott was surprised. "Erica Reyes?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

Scott knew her. She doesn't talk to anyone. A few years ago she had one of her seizures during class. She was epileptic and had difficulty keeping it under control. She was put on medication that had pretty bad side effects. She gained weight and became covered in acne. Everyone steered clear of her after that. Scott tried to talk to her once or twice but she always made up an excuse to leave. He guessed she didn't think his friendliness was genuine. He sees her every now and then in the hallway, always with her head down.

"I was put in the desk next to her. She's really good from what I saw. And nice." Isaac reached down and took a drink of his tea.

"What did you guys talk about?" Scott asked.

"Not a lot. She was pretty quiet." Isaac smiled. "She seemed more nervous than_ I_ was. Since I'm new, she asked me where I was from. I told her I was homeschooled mostly. She asked me why anyone would trade _that_ for high school." Isaac's smile was gone.

"She didn't know," Scott said. He understood why she said it though. Since her attack Erica has become something of a pariah. Scott wasn't entirely sure she had any friends.

"I know. We didn't talk much after that."

Just then their waitress returned with their pizza. "Be careful." She said as she lowered the steaming pan to the table. "It's hot!"

"Thank you," Scott said.

"My pleasure," she said and smiled at both of them as she turned and walked away.

Isaac reached and took two slices from the pan grinning. "This smells amazing!" He set them down on his plate. "Damn," he said as he quickly put his fingers in his mouth. "That's hot!"

"Well did you think she was lying?" Scott said and Isaac gave him a look.

They ate their pizza and when they were finished Scott placed a twenty on the table. "Ready to go?" he asked Isaac.

He was lying back in the booth with a distant look in his eye. He made a sound and said, "I think I ate too much…"

Scott laughed. "I gotta admit I was impressed when you finished the sixth slice. I never get passed four."

"I can't…. even move…. I'm so full.."

"You'll feel better when we get home." Scott said and he got up from the booth. Isaac slowly got up and headed for the door. As they were leaving Danny was coming in with a boy Scott didn't recognize.

"Hey, Danny," Scott said.

Danny looked surprised. "Oh! Hey, Scott." He looked at the boy.

"Who's this?" Scott asked.

Danny hesitated. "He's.. a friend." He gestured at Isaac. "Who's this?"

Scott looked at Isaac. "A friend. Isaac."

"Oh! Nice to meet you, Isaac." Danny said. "This is Ethan. He goes to a different school."

"Nice to meet you," Scott said.

"Nice to meet you," Isaac repeated.

"Well, enjoy your meal." Scott said.

"Thanks," Danny said. He walked by Scott and whispered, "Well done."

"What?!" Scott asked quickly but Danny and Ethan were already inside. _What's _that_ supposed to mean?_ Then it hit him. _Oh my god._

"Well that was weird," Isaac said. "What did he say to you?"

"Uh, I don't know. I couldn't hear him." Scott started for the parking lot. "Let's just go home."

When they got to Scott's bike Isaac let out a moan. "I forgot we came here on that. I don't know if my stomach can handle it."

"You'll be ok," he said grinning and hopped on. He patted the seat behind him. "Hop on old buddy old pal."

Isaac smiled. "Alright," he said and got on behind him. He put his hands on Scott's waist and leaned forward. "But if I throw up all over you just know you were warned."

Scott laughed. "Consider me warned." He started the bike and they took off down the road.

It was a beautiful night. The stars were out dotting the sky. There was a small breeze to cool down the heat. They turned down the street where they lived and that's when Scott got an idea. They came to the house and passed it.

"Where are we going?" Isaac yelled.

"Just trust me," Scott yelled back. _You'll love it._

Isaac held him tighter. "Ok," he yelled. "I trust you!"

They drove down streets and neighborhood, past businesses and restaurants, all through town. Scott turned on a road that led out of town and into some woods. They stayed on it until they came to a dirt road and turned. It seemed to have continued forever. After a few minutes Scott turned off the path at a large tree and into the woods.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Isaac yelled.

"Trust," Scott yelled back.

Scott could see his destination through the trees and smiled. Finally, they came to a clearing and wide open sky. Scott stopped the bike and turned it off. He heard Isaac gasp.

"Wow," he said as he slowly got off. "It's beautiful."

In front of them was a large lake, stars reflecting on the water and a giant crescent moon in the center.

"I found this place last year," Scott said coming up beside him. He looked at Isaac. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open in a smile. He started forward toward the border of the water. The moon was so bright out here that it lit up everything around them in a pale glow. "I come here sometimes when I need to get away or think about things."

Isaac turned around and looked at him. Even he was glowing under the moon. "Why did you bring me here?"

Scott hesitated and looked down. "I don't know. I guess I wanted you to have this place too."

Isaac turned back to the lake. Scott walked up and stood beside him. The air was clear and clean out here. It was peaceful, like there was nothing else in the world. He looked at Scott and smiled.

Scott smiled back and they sat down on the soft grass. They watched the water hit against the rocks in front of them and listened to the wind blowing through the trees.

"I wanted to thank you," Isaac said softly still watching the water.

Scott looked at him. "For what?"

He looked at Scott. "Everything,"

Scott put an arm around Isaac. He laid his head down on Scott's shoulder. "Anytime, buddy."

Isaac lifted his head and looked Scott in the eye. They were incredibly close. He slowly leaned in and gently brought his lips to Scott's.


	15. Chapter 15

Isaac pulled away and quickly looked away. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."

Scott put his hand on Isaac's cheek and turned his head back at him. Without saying a word he kissed him again. His lips were soft and gentle. When Scott pulled away his eyes were still closed.

When he opened his eyes he just stared. "This changes things, doesn't it," he said with a small laugh.

Scott smiled. "It definitely changes things." They both looked out over the water. The moon was still high in the sky and the stars bright. Scott lied down on the grass and Isaac followed. "_SHIT!"_

"What?" Isaac asked, startled.

"I forgot to pick something up for my mom,"

Isaac started to laugh. "We can get something when we head back."

"When do you want to head back?" Scott asked with a smile.

"I don't know. I'm pretty comfortable here."

They laughed and looked back to the sky in silence side by side. After a few minutes Scott spoke up. "I love stars,"

"Oh?" Isaac asked taking Scott's hand in his.

"When I was little my mom would set up our telescope out back and we'd spend all night watching the stars." Scott smiled at the memory. "You couldn't see them like you can here because of the lights in town but they were still there."

Isaac turned his head and watched him.

"I didn't care in the beginning. They were just stars to me, dots in the sky. Then my mom told me that every single one of them was a world of its own." Scott paused for a moment. "She showed me all of the constellations like the big dipper, Orion's Belt, Orion the hunter." Scott pointed at the sky. "See? Right there's the big dipper, those seven stars."

"Wow," Isaac whispered.

"We haven't done that in a while," Scott said in a small voice. "She doesn't have time anymore."

"She works hard," Isaac said.

Scott sighed. "Yeah….. I know," he said. "I just miss it sometimes." He stayed silent for a while looking up. "Her favorite was the Corona Borealis, The Northern Crown. She liked the mythology behind it. Mine was Hercules."

"Why Hercules?" Isaac asked.

"I thought it looked cool," Scott replied and they laughed. "There are a lot of stories in the stars, stories of love and loss, big battles and heroic deeds. Our history is up there." Scott paused. "We don't look up very much anymore."

"She means a lot to you, your mom," Isaac said softly.

"More than anything," Scott said.

"I don't really remember mine. Sometimes I get flashes of blonde hair but I can never see her face. My dad," Isaac's voice broke. "He threw away all the pictures of our family after she and my brother died. All but one that I hid in my room. It was from a vacation we took to the beach. He found it when he searched through my room. He thought I had taken one of his watches. He tore it up and threw it in my face saying 'She's dead. Get over it.'" Scott could hear him start to cry. "I _hate_ that I can't remember her."

Scott sat up and hugged him tight. He whispered, "Nothing can ever replace the family you had. Or ever make you want to. But we're going to try our best to make you feel every _bit_ a part of ours as we can."

His only response was he pulled Scott closer.

They stayed out there for a long while under the moon until the air started to grow cold. Scott felt a chill go down his spine. "It's starting to get cold."

"A little," Isaac said.

"Think it's time to go?"

Isaac sat up on his elbow and looked down at Scott. "Only if we get to come back," he said with softness in his voice.

Scott smiled and got up. "Of course." He held down a hand and picked Isaac up. He put a hand around his waist and they walked to the bike.

They stopped by a McDonald's and picked up a sandwich for Melissa. When they got home she was sitting on the couch watching TV. Scott handed her the bag of food.

"Oh, thank god. I'm _starving_!"

"Well, enjoy." Scott said. "We're going to go to bed."

"Ok, night boys."

They gave her a collective "goodnight" and they climbed the stairs. When Scott got to his door Isaac stopped him. "Come with me," he said quietly. "Please?" Isaac took his hand and led him to his room. He pulled him inside and they took off their clothes, down to their boxers.

They crawled into his bed and Scott put his arm around Isaac. "Goodnight, Isaac," he whispered in Isaac's ear.

"Goodnight, Scott."

The next morning Scott woke up to find Isaac was gone. He put on the jeans he was wearing the night before and left the room. He walked downstairs and found him in the kitchen. He was sitting at the counter drinking a cup of coffee. He'd put on a white shirt and sweatpants. "Morning," he said with a smile when he saw him.

"Morning," Scott said returning the smile.

"Did you sleep good?" he asked.

Scott walked over to the fridge. "Very good." He pulled out some orange juice and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. "What time is it?" Scott asked.

"9:30,"

"So we're _very_ late for school? That doesn't look good on your second day." Scott said with a smile.

"Don't worry. I called us in sick so you could sleep in longer."

"Really?" Scott said. "What does my mom think about this?"

"She doesn't know. She left before I woke up." He brought the cup of coffee to his mouth.

Scott walked over to the counter. "So what's the plan? We have all day."

Isaac smiled. "I thought we could go to the library. I want to learn about constellations. I went into the garage and I found your old telescope. I was thinking tonight we could all sit outside and…. look up."

Scott smiled. "That'd be great."

Scott couldn't believe the last twelve hours. He didn't know until last night how much he felt for Isaac. The feeling was there but Scott didn't know what it was. It happened so fast that he was blind to it. For some reason, Isaac made him feel what no one else had made him feel before. He felt protective and empathy and… love. In such a small amount of time this boy, who was thrown into his life unexpectedly, had connected to him in ways he couldn't describe. Isaac opened Scott's eyes. It seemed fate had pushed them together, to take care of each other, to give each other _a new start_.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hurry up!" Isaac yelled from the back yard. "The sun's almost set!"

Scott was standing in the kitchen preparing popcorn. "I'm almost done!" he yelled. The microwave binged and he retrieved the bag from the microwave. He tore it open and spilled the contents into a large bowl. He picked it up and walked over to the sliding glass door, pulled it open, and went outside. He set it down on a table in between two reclining lawn chairs, one of which was occupied. "Want anything to drink?" he asked Isaac.

"I think water would be great," he said with a smile. "Thanks."

Scott bowed. "As you wish," he said with a faux English accent and started toward the door.

Isaac leaned up and looked back at Scott. "You know, that was pretty cute. You should do that more!"

Scott stopped and turned around. "What? Talk in an accent?"

"No," he said with a devilish smile. "Getting me things!"

Scott looked at him and narrowed his eyes. "Thin ice, boy. Thin ice," and turned around to head back inside, a smile spreading across his lips. It was hard to even _pretend _to be mad at him.

"Thank you," he heard Isaac say sweetly before he closed the door behind him.

He walked over to the fridge, pulled out two water bottles, and was heading back to the sliding glass door when he heard the front door open. "Mom?" he called. He heard a loud groan in response and laughed. "That's her," he thought out loud. He walked into the living room to see his mother dragging herself to the couch and collapse.

She looked at Scott. "Please, for the love of god, put me out of my misery."

Scott smiled. "Tough day?"

"You don't even know." She grabbed a pillow and put it over her face. "How was your day? How was school?"

"Uh," Scott started. "I didn't go. We called in sick."

She took the pillow off her face and sat up. "We? Are you sick?"

"Isaac and I. And no."

She looked confused. "Is Isaac sick?"

"No."

"So Isaac skipped his second day of school?" She asked incredulously.

Scott saw this coming. "Yes, but-,"

"What's taking so long?" Isaac asked as he entered the room. His eyes landed on Melissa and he smiled. "Oh, hey!"

"You skipped school?" she asked loudly.

Isaac's smile disappeared. "Uh-,"

"I called us in sick before he woke up," Scott interrupted. Isaac looked at him.

"Why?" His mom asked.

"Because…. I wanted to plan this night for you," Scott said.

She narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Scott gestured to the sliding glass door. "After you!"

She got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen. Scott turned to follow but Isaac stopped him short. He waited for Melissa to be out of ear shot before he spoke in a whisper. "Why did you do that? Lie for me?"

"Because," Scott said touching his cheek and smiling. "You're the innocent little boy down the hall. Wouldn't want to ruin _that _perception, would we?"

"Is that your comeback for the butler joke?" he asked dryly.

Scott tilted his head. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said and started for the kitchen. He stopped short and turned around. "Here's your water," he said and tossed him a bottle. With a wink and a smile he said, "Master," in his English accent and turned and went outside. He could see his mom standing on the lawn.

"What's the telescope doing out?" She asked pointing to it.

"We're going to introduce Isaac to an old tradition," Scott said taking a seat in one of the lawn chairs. "We spent the day at the library looking at books about constellations."

"There weren't many, believe it or not," Isaac said as he came outside.

Scott looked at his mom. "I told him about how we used to lay outside and look at the stars and name the constellations we saw."

Melissa raised her eyebrows, looked up, and smiled. "We haven't done that in years!" She walked over to one of the cushioned benches and sat down. The stars had started to emerge, dotting here and there in the sky. "It's beautiful," she said quietly in wonder.

The sun quickly went down under the skyline. The once orange-blue glow that had spread across the sky was now dark, replaced by a bright moon and an infinite of stars. Like it was last night, at the lake.

The memory brought a smile to Scott's face.

Melissa would point out the various constellations and Isaac would try hard to find them in the telescope. He would follow each find with an _oooh _or an _ahhh. _Scott sat in his chair watching them. Isaac asked her questions about what each arrangement of stars meant and she would tell him as she had Scott so many years before. Every now and then Isaac would look over at Scott and smile. He seemed to be glowing, the moon was so bright.

They sat out there for hours under the sky.

Finally, Melissa got up from her chair, yawning and stretching. "I think it's time for me to go to bed."

"Alright," Scott said getting up. He walked over to his mom and wrapped his arms around her. "Good night."

"Night, honey."

"Good night," Isaac said, looking through the telescope.

"Good night, Isaac." She turned to head inside. "Don't stay up too late," she said as she slide the glass door open. "You have school tomorrow."

"We won't," Scott called. She closed the door and disappeared inside.

Scott waited until he was sure she was gone. He walked over to where Isaac was leaning down, still looking at the stars. He came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Isaac's body. "This was a great idea," he said quietly against his back. Scott could feel the warmth of him of his face.

Isaac stood straight and turned around, smiling. "I know, right?"

Scott leaned up and gently kissed his lips, smooth and soft. He looked into his eyes. His eyes were a blue completely unique to him. They had flecks of light gray that made it look like they were ceaselessly gleaming. Not the eyes Scott expected to see on a boy who lived the life Isaac had.

"Come here," Scott said and led him by the hand to a large cushioned bench. He sat him down and crawled in beside him. He didn't know why he felt so comfortable with him. It was only last week when he met him.

_But that was all it took. _

From the moment he stepped out of the car Scott knew he wasn't an ordinary boy, or person for that matter. That was clear now as he lay in his arms, the open sky above them with a breeze in the air.

They lay there in silence feeling each other's warmth on their skin and the rhythmic rise and fall of Isaac's chest.

Scott thought of all the things he wanted to say. He remembered Isaac's lie and he decided he didn't care.

_That's in the past._

Isaac had spent enough time belonging to his past. He felt he was defined by it. Scott didn't want to give him the past. He wanted to give him a future. One he could look forward to. One he could think about and smile, not feel lost and alone and hopeless.

Soon Scott's eyes were heavy and he yawned.

"Are you tired," Isaac asked quietly.

"A little," Scott replied.

He started to get up. "We can go inside-,"

"No," Scott said quickly. It felt good, being there, in his arms. He was tired but he didn't want to get up. He wasn't sure if he _ever_ wanted to get up. "I like it here."

Isaac smiled. "Ok," he said and gently returned to where he was laying. He wrapped an arm around Scott and held him close.

Scott closed his eyes and, to the steady beat of Isaac's heart, let himself be taken over by sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Scott woke up to a sudden coldness on his back. Isaac was no longer beside him. He sat up and quickly looked around the yard. When he didn't see him his heart started to beat faster.

He got up and hurried inside. He found him in the kitchen sitting at the table, a cup in his hand. He was staring at it. "Isaac?"

He jumped a little at the sound but his eyes never left the cup.

Scott crossed the room and slowly sat down next to him. Isaac's eyes were red and he seemed to be trembling. When Scott looked closer he could see sweat on his forehead. "Isaac, what's wrong? Are you ok?" He went to put a hand on his arm but he recoiled. He wouldn't even look at Scott.

"I'm fine." His voice was quiet and shaky.

"You're not," Scott said softly. Isaac just kept staring. _What's wrong with him? _"Did you have another nightmare?"

Isaac's face was full of shame. A tear fell down his cheek.

"Why didn't you wake me up? I could have helped-,"

Isaac's turned quickly and looked him in the eye. "Because it's not your problem." He was shaking more now. He looked back at the cup. "It's not your problem," he said again, quieter.

Scott reached over and put a hand on Isaac's arm. This time he didn't pull away. "It is, Isaac. It _is_ my problem-,"

"Why?" Isaac looked at him again.

"'Why?'" Scott repeated. "'Why' what?"

Isaac hesitated and then looked back at his cup. After a few moments he said, "I've been sitting here wondering why in the _hell _you like me."

"Isaac-,"

Isaac put up a hand. "Stop,"

Scott closed his mouth. _Where is this coming from? _

"I don't-," He closed his eyes as if to compose himself. "Every day since I got here you guys have been nothing but… nice and… and I can't stop this feeling that I don't…" Another tear fell. "That I don't deserve it."

Scott moved his hand and placed it on Isaac's. "Why would you think that?" This isn't the boy Scott was with a few hours ago. That boy was happy. Now he was like he was the night he ran away. Scott tried not to think of that.

Isaac tried to speak but his voice caught in his throat. Another tear fell down the side of his face. He cleared his throat. "I'm not who you think I am."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Isaac was starting to scare him.

Outside, Scott could hear thunder and lightning began to crack in the sky. Sprinkles of rain began to hit the windows.

Isaac looked up at Scott. The look of shame grew worse. It was full of pain. "My dad-," His voice broke again and he looked back down. He couldn't look at him. "My dad didn't get arrested."

Scott felt a little relief. "I know,"

"What?" Isaac looked up, confused. "How could you know?"

"Stiles. He showed me the police report."

"He…. what?" He looked like Scott had just punched him. He looked… hurt. "Why would he do that?"

Scott didn't know what to tell him. He couldn't tell him that Stiles thought he was dangerous. That he'd somehow hurt him or his mom. "I don't know." It was all he could think to say.

"You don't know? He's your best friend and you don't know?"

Scott looked away. Isaac was waiting for a reply but Scott had nothing.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in a whisper. "That you knew… what I did."

Scott looked back up. "Because I didn't care." He said it with conviction because it was true. He didn't. "What he did to you…" Scott swallowed hard. His eyes were starting to sting with his own tears. "He deserved it."

Isaac was silent for a moment. "He was my dad, Scott." His lip quivered a little as he breathed. "He didn't deserve to die."

"How can you think that?" Scott remembered what Isaac told him.

_He went numb everywhere and started drinking every day. He couldn't be sad anymore so he became angry and took it out on me. Every little thing set him off. I dropped a plate on the floor by accident once and he hurled the shards at me calling me 'stupid' and 'useless'._

_When things got really bad, he'd punish me by knocking me around or locking me in a broken freezer for days. He'd occasionally throw in food but he'd wait until I was near starved so I'd see that I still needed him._

"He was my dad," he said with more pain than Scott had ever heard. "He was all I had left of my family. And because of me," he paused to breathe. "Because of me I _lost_ it."

Scott turned Isaac's face toward him and looked him in the eye. "What happened was _not _your fault. Do you understand me?"

Isaac's face went blank. The only sign of emotion was his tear stained cheeks. "You think you're the first person to tell me that? You're not even the twentieth." He took Scott's hand off his face and put it on the table. "I know you're just trying to help and I appreciate it." He took Scott's hands in his and stared at them. "But I don't deserve someone like you. And you deserve someone better."

Scott's heart sank. "W-what are you talking about?"

He hesitated. "I'm a mess, Scott." _I acted like I was ok, that everything was fine, and they believed me. _The tears returned to his face. "You have friends and a future. I can't-," his voice was barely more than a whisper. "I can't love you like someone should. I don't know how. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you, Isaac."

"You sure? Stiles-,"

"Stiles doesn't know you like I do."

Isaac was silent. He just stared at his cup.

"You have _nothing _to be ashamed of." Isaac looked up at Scott. "You are _exactly_ who I want. There is not a damn thing on this Earth that would make me think differently. You have _nothing _wrong with you. What happened was not your fault. I don't care if I was the thousandth person to tell you that, you know why? Because I _meant_ it." Scott paused a moment. "I love you, Isaac. I'm not leaving you alone. If you need help, we'll get you some. You're not alone anymore." Scott reached over and held him close. "And I won't let you give up that easy."

Isaac gripped him harder. "I just don't know what I can do anymore."

"I know," Scott whispered. "That's what _I'm_ here for, remember? To remind you that you're strong."

"_What I do know is that you're strong enough to overcome whatever bullshit life threw at you when you were too young to handle it."_

"_I don't know if I am"_

"_You don't have to know. I'm here to remind you. Maybe it was fate, then, that you came to us."_

"As long as you're with me, you will never forget that." Scott pulled back and kissed him. He looked out the window and saw the storm had gone and the sun was starting to come up. "Let's get to bed," he said with a smile. "We have school today."

Isaac nodded and together they went upstairs. Isaac stopped at Scott's door. "I really don't deserve you," he said quietly.

"Yes you do," Scott replied without hesitation.

Isaac smiled a small smile and continued to his room.

"Goodnight," Scott called down the hall.

Isaac turned the door knob and looked at Scott. "Goodnight."

He went inside and Scott watched the door close. He entered his room and collapsed on the bed. He was exhausted. This thing with Isaac wasn't done, he knew. It was a long road ahead for him and Scott will be there for him.

As long as it takes. He will be there.

_Maybe it was fate, then._

_That you came to us._


End file.
